Fifty Shades Of Grey casting announced: Newcastle-born Charlie Hunnam to play Christian, while Dakota Johnson will be Anastasia

Nick Clark

Nick Clark is the arts correspondent of The Independent. He joined the newspaper in June 2007, initially reporting on the stock markets. He has covered beats including the City, and technology, media and telecoms and made the switch to arts in December 2011. He has also contributed articles to the sports section.

Christian Grey was one of the most coveted roles in Hollywood, and today it emerged that the leading man in the Fifty Shades of Grey film would be played by a Brit.

Charlie Hunnam, who starred in Byker Grove and Queer as Folk, has beaten a string of actors to the role
of Christian Grey in the big screen adaptation of the literary
phenomenon.

The female lead Anastasia Steele was also revealed, as Dakota
Jonson, the daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Don
Johnson.

EL James , the Fifty Shades author, announced the news on her blog. She
called Johnson “lovely” and said Hunnam was “gorgeous and talented”.

The film will be directed by artist-turned-director Sam
Taylor-Johnson, who directed John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, and is due out in August next year.

Rumours about Hunnam’s potential involvement started last month,
following months of talk linking everyone from Ryan Gosling and
Chris Hemsworth to Michael Fassbender and Alex Pettyfer.

Hunnam, 33, was discovered by a production manager for Byker Grove in 1998. His roles on film include Children of Men, Cold Mountain and the recent blockbuster Pacific Rim.

In the US, he is well known for his leading role of Jax Teller
in the biker drama Sons of Anarchy, which has run since 2008.

Johnson had been linked with the role of Anastasia, as well as
Alicia Vikander and Shailene Woodley.

Johnson has modelled and appeared in small roles in films
including The Social Network, 21 Jump Street and The Five-Year Engagement.

To date, the Fifty Shades trilogy has sold over 70 million copies
worldwide, one of the fastest selling series of all time.
Universal Pictures and Focus Features secured the multi-million
dollar rights last year for the story of the relationship between a
college student and a wealthy entrepreneur who takes her into the
world of S&M.